Meet Our Faculty
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Ivan Pryntsev
Artistic Director/Owner
Founder of Pryntsev Ballet Academy, international performer, professional ballet dancer, and dedicated mentor. Ivan's students have achieved top 1st places at YAGP, showcasing his exceptional teaching skills in the Vaganova ballet method.
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Natasha Miroshnyk
Pre-Pro Ballet Teacher
Graduated from Kiev Choreography School, Natasha is a distinguished instructor in the Vaganova ballet method with award-winning YAGP students.
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Galina Dagaeva
Pre-Pro Ballet Teacher
Galina Dagaeva, born in Ulan-Ude, Russia, is a distinguished Vaganova method instructor with a rich performance history. She toured internationally as a soloist and now excels in preparing aspiring dancers . Galina combines individual attention, kindness, and high expectations, nurturing each student's potential and achieving exceptional results.
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Tyson Garner
Tyson Garner, a seasoned performer, has graced Broadway, global tours, and Royal Caribbean stages. An outstanding teacher at YAGP, he has guided students to success at YAGP and taught at Joffrey Ballet School summer intensives, inspiring the next generation of performers.
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Julia Atkinson
Julia, from Orange, California, is finishing her BA in Dance at California State University, Fullerton, trained under Debra Noble and Alvin Rangel. She performed in significant venues like the Claire Trevor Theater, engaging with works by choreographers such as Yoshito Sakuraba. Previously, Julia trained at the Academy of Dance, where she performed classical ballets like "La Bayadere" and "The Nutcracker." Her passion for Modern dance, choreography, and teaching deepened during her college years. Committed to dance education, Julia aims to inspire others through her choreographic work focused on social change.
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Aurore Stadler
Aurore has been dancing since the age of five, starting with tap and then moving on to various styles such as ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, lyrical, musical theater, and Russian character. She trained at Pacific Ballet Conservatory in the Vaganova method with Ludmil Boubbov, a former Principal Dancer with the State Opera in Varna, Bulgaria, as well as the Balanchine and ABT methods. Aurore had attended numerous summer intensive programs, including with Jillana in Taos, New Mexico, The Joffrey Ballet, and the Conservatory Dance intensive at UC Irvine. She has also danced in many Nutcrackers at Pacific Theatre Ballet. She is currently finishing her BA in Dance and French at Cal State Fullerton and has choreographed three dance pieces for their showcase productions and 12x16.
Faculty
Ivan Pryntsev was born in Dnipro, Ukraine. He began his dance training at the Dnipro Ballet Academy, where he studied classical ballet and contemporary dance. At age 15, he was accepted into the Dnipro Theatrical Art College. Ivan was invited to join the Dnipro Opera and Ballet Theatre while still a student, and toured with the company to Berlin, Germany and Xuchang, China where he performed in Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet, and The Sleeping Beauty. He graduated from the Dnipro Theatrical Art College at age 19, with qualifications as a Professional Ballet Dancer, Teacher of Specialized Institutions of Art, and Director of Choreographic Collective. He was then offered a contract to dance with the Moscow Ballet in The Great Russian Nutcracker, and performed in over 70 cities across the United States. In 2019, Ivan performed lead roles in classical ballet productions with Festival Ballet Theater and Golden State Dance Foundation, both in Orange County, California. In addition to dancing professionally, Ivan also teaches ballet, pointe, variation, and character dance classes, as well as workshops and master classes for children, teens, and adults throughout southern California.
In early 2020 Mr. Ivan founded Pryntsev Ballet Academy in Orange County, CA, training his students in the Vaganova Ballet Method and providing young students with a pre-professional environment, proper ballet technique, avoiding injuries and helping students reach their maximum potential. Ivan believes that in the right environment any child can learn and improve their skills!
Through his detailed teaching method, Mr. Pryntsev's students have been awarded at Youth America Grand Prix Regional Competitions and placed as TOP 1, TOP 3, TOP 6 and TOP 12 as well as been awarded scholarships and have been accepted to schools such as Bolshoi Ballet Summer intensive, Ellison Ballet Summer intensive, Colorado Ballet Summer intensive, IBC Summer intensive Moscow and others.
Ivan Pryntsev
Artistic Director
Natasha Miroshnyk
Ballet Technique, Pointe, Variation, Character
graduated in 1988 from the Kiev Academic Choreography School, where she was trained under the Honorable Ukrainian Actress A.G. Calchenko. After graduation, she was invited to join the Odessa Academic State Opera and Ballet Theatre. She toured Japan, China, Taiwan, Germany, Spain, Finland, Lebanon, and other countries, and performed with them as a soloist until 2000. From 2001 to 2003, she was a principal dancer with the First State Ballet Theater in Delaware. In 2003, Natasha became a soloist and audition director for the Moscow Ballet where she remained until 2013. She has performed in many ballet repertoire including: The Nutcracker (Pas de Deux/Snow), Giselle, Swan Lake, Flames of Paris, The Sleeping Beauty, Walpurgis Night, La Bayadère, The Little Humpbacked Horse, Carnival in Venice,Chopiniana, Carmen Suite, Pas de Quatre, Don Quixote and more.
Natasha began her teaching career in 2000 at Dance Elite ballet school in Doylestown, PA, where she taught ballet technique to beginning through advanced level classes and pointe. She prepared choreography for their annual performance of “The Nutcracker” and “The Wizard of Oz”. She continued teaching and choreographing while working with students at Media Dance School in Media, PA, and the Russian Ballet Center in Newport, DE before taking her role in 2003 as soloist with the Moscow Ballet. Natasha has taught in the San Diego and Orange County areas from 2013 to the present. Natasha’s dancers have won various awards including 1st and 3rd places at YAGP in San Diego and Los Angeles in 2019. Natasha looks forward to training the dancers at Pryntsev Ballet Academy, improving their technique and sharing her love of ballet.
Debra Maxwell
Adult ballet Classes
Debra Maxwell began her dancing as a young girl at the Dayton Ballet Company School. She graduated from The Boston Conservatory during which time she danced with the Boston Dance Theatre. Directly following her education Debra traveled to Europe to study with such greats as Hector Zaraspe, Donald MacGayle, Glen Tetley and Twyla Tharp. She danced with the London Masulli Ballet Company in Lisbon, Portugal. Upon returning to the United States she spent the following 4 years studying at American Ballet Theatre in New York City with Patricia Wilde, Gabrella Darvash and Maggie Black. She then relocated to the west coast and focused on teaching in Los Angeles with Stanley Holden, Jane Fonda, Westside Ballet and Roland Dupree. During that time she wrote, produced and appeared in her own instructional children video “I CAN DANCE”. The video was distributed nationwide by Kultur Video and saw years of success. After several years in Los Angeles Debra moved to Orange County where she has taught at several of the area’s top professional dance studios.
Debra is an American Ballet Theatre certified teacher who has completed ABT
Teachers Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the National
Teachers Curriculum.
Debra also is certified in Mat Pilates.
GUEST FACULTY
Summer Intensive 2024
Online Guest Instructors
Bolshoi Ballet
Denis Rodkin
Mr. Denis Rodkin is a Principal Dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre in Moscow, Russia. He is a graduate of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. His numerous accolades include the 2018 Presidential Prize to Young Culture Professionals (Russia), the 2017 Benois de la dance International Dance Association Prize for the role of Solor in La Bayadere, the 2016 Oleg Yankovsky Prize from Bosco di Ciliegi Festival, voted The Best Dancer of the Year in 2016 by Danza & Danza Magazine (Italy), and the 2014 Soul of Dance Prize in the Rising Star Category from Ballet Magazine. Mr. Rodkin’s repertoire includes Prince Desire (The Sleeping Beauty), Basilio (Don Quixote in the second A. Fadeyechev version), Solor (La Bayadere), Conrad (Le Corsaire), Boris (The Golden Age by Dmitry Shostakovich, choreography by Yuri Grigorovich), Count Albrecht (A. Adam’s Giselle, choreography by J. Coralli, J. Perrot, M.s Petipa, Y. Grigorovich’s version), Jose (Carmen Suite), Prince Frederici (Marco Spada by D.-F.-E. Auber, P. Lacotte production), The Nutcracker-Prince (Nutcracker), Onegin (Onegin to music by P.Tchaikovsky, choreography by J. Cranko), and Prince Siegfried (Swan Lake).
Eleonora Sevenard
Ms. Eleonora Sevenard is a Soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre in Moscow, Russia. She is a graduate of the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. While still a student, she was selected to perform with the Mariinsky Ballet Theatre, and participated in the Vaganova Academy’s tour to Lithuania and Japan. From 2015 thru 2017, she danced the role of Masha-Princess in The Nutcracker in the Vaganova Academy’s performances at the Mariinsky Theatre. In 2017, she was invited to perform in the Russian Ballet Icons Gala at the London Coliseum. Ms. Sevenard’s repertoire includes Gamzatti (La Bayadere by L. Minkus, choreography by М. Petipa, Y. Grigorovich’s version), Swanilda (Coppelia), Kitri (Don Quixote), and the leading role in Grand Pas from Paquita (M. Petipa).
Joffrey Ballet
Jeraldine Mendoza
Ms. Jeraldine Mendoza is a Lead Principal Dancer with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, Illinois. She trained at the City Ballet School of San Francisco since the age of 5. At age 17, she was invited to graduate in the Russian course at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia. Ms. Mendoza was awarded the Young Artist’s Scholarship from the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund. She also graced the cover of Dance Magazine in May 2015. Her repertoire includes Stanton Welch’s La Bayadére (Nikiya), Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs; George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and The Four Temperaments; Christopher Wheeldon’s Continuum, Swan Lake (Odette/Odile), Liturgy, Fool’s Paradise, and The Nutcracker; Jerome Robbins’ Interplay and Glass Pieces; Krzysztof Pastor’s Romeo & Juliet (Juliet); Justin Peck’s In Creases and Year of the Rabbit; John Neumeier’s Sylvia (Sylvia); Sir Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella (Cinderella); and Lola de Avila’s Giselle (Giselle, Myrta). Photo credit: Yuri Zhukov
Dylan Gutierrez
Mr. Dylan Gutierrez is a Lead Principal Dancer with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, Illinois. He began his training at the Los Angeles Ballet Academy under the direction of his mother Andrea-Paris Gutierrez. In 2006, he was awarded a full scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in London. Mr. Gutierrez was named one of the Top 25 to Watch in 2014 by Dance Magazine. Together with Ruben Harris, he founded the Young and Cultured movement, which aims to support the goals and aspirations of young artists from a variety of fields. His favorite roles danced with the Joffrey include Death in The Green Table, Basilio in Don Quixote, Prince Siegfried in Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake, Prince Albrecht in Giselle, Main Pas de Deux couple from Wayne McGregor’s Infra, Sanguinic in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, and Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit and In Creases. Photo Credit:Herbert Migdoll
Nat’l Ballet of Ukraine
Anna Onipko
Ms. Anna Onipko is a graduate of the Kiev State Ballet Academy, where she studied with Madame Natalia Virikundova, one of the last pupils of Agrippina Vaganova. Ms. Onipko was a Soloist with the National Ballet of Ukraine, and toured across Europe and the United States. Her many accolades include 1st Prize at the International Ballet Festival in Belarus, and the Special Prize at the Serge Lifar International Ballet Competition. Ms. Onipko was a Principal Dancer at Ballet El Paso in Texas, dancing title roles in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, and Pulcinella. She graduated with honors from the University of Texas, El Paso with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance. Ms. Onipko has over twenty years of teaching experience in New Mexico, Florida, Texas, and California. She is also an accomplished choreographer, creating original choreography for Alice in Wonderland, Twelve Days of Christmas and more. Her original ensemble choreography for “Plyasovaya” advanced to the 2016 Youth America Grand Prix International Finals in New York City. Ms. Onipko is also author of “Prelude to Ballet: A Soviet Girl Dances and Dreams”, a young adult historical fiction novel.
Jaryna Kotys
Ms. Jaryna Kotys is a Principal Dancer at the Lviv National Opera in Ukraine. Previously she was with the Eifman Ballet (St. Petersburg State Academic Theater of Boris Eifman). She graduated from the Drohobych State Pedagogical University (Specialty Choreography, 2018) and the Lviv State School of Culture and Arts (Department of Classical Choreography, 2011), and earned a diploma from an International Ballet Competition. Ms. Kotys’ extensive repertoire includes Odette-Odile - "Swan Lake" by P. Tchaikovsky, Medora - "Corsair" by A. Adana, Nikia - " ;Bayaderka" by L. Minkus, Kitri - " ;Don Quixote" by L. Minkus, Mistress of Dryads - "Don Quixote" by L. Minkus, Street dancer - "Don Quixote" by L. Minkus, Zobeida - "Scheherazade" by M. Rimsky-Korsakov, and Mirta (Lady of the Willis) - "Giselle" by A. Adan.
Ekaterina Tomashek
Ms. Ekaterina Tomashek graduated from the Kazan Choreographic School with a degree in Choreographic Art in 2007. From 2007 to 2014, she worked at the Donetsk National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. In 2014, she was accepted into the troupe of the Odessa National Opera and Ballet Theater. Her repertoire includes Mercedes ("Don Quixote" by L. Minkus), Spanish dance and Big Swans ("Swan Lake" by P. Tchaikovsky), Hindu dance ("Bayaderka" by L. Minkus), Gudula ("Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris" M Jarra), Marjana ("1000 and 1 night" by F. Amirov), and Oze ("Peer Gynt" by E. Grieg). Ms. Tomashek is the Owner and Founder of the Tomashek Ballet School in Odessa, Ukraine.
Stanislav Olshanskiy
Mr. Stanislav Olshanskyi is a Principal Dancer at the Kiev National Opera of Ukraine. He is also the 1 st Prize Winner of the 2019 XII International Ballet Competition in Seoul, South Korea. Mr. Olshansky graduated from the Kyiv State Choreographic School, and previously danced with the Lviv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. Mr. Olshansky’s extensive repertoire includes: Prince (The Nutcracker) by P. Tchaikovsky, Basil ("Don Quixote" by L. Minkus), Prince Desiree, The Blue Bird (Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky), Solor ("Bayaderka" by L. Minkus), Albert (A. Adana's Giselle), Conrad (A. Adana's "Corsair") Rothbard (Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky), Escamillo (Carmen Suite by J. Bizet - R. Shchedrin), and Golden Slave ("Scheherazade" by M. Rimsky - Korsakov).
Alexander Omelchenko
Mr. Alexander Omelchenko is a Principal Dancer at the Lviv National Opera in Ukraine. Previously, he was First Soloist at Bayerisches Staatsballett in Munich, Germany and also danced with the Stanislavsky Music Theater in Moscow, Russia. He graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy (Moscow State Academy of Choreography), and the Belorussian State Ballet School. Mr. Omelchenko is a prize winner at many international prestigious competitions, including 1 st Prize at the National Ballet Competition in Moscow (2013), 1 st Prize at the VII International Ballet Competition in Korea (2012), 1 st Prize at the International Ballet Competition in Kharkov (2011), and 2 nd & 3 rd Prize at the International Ballet Competition in Sochi, Russia (2012 & 2010).
Victor Tomashek
Mr. Victor Tomashek is Principal Ballet Dancer of Odessa National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet. He graduated from the Kyiv State Choreographic School (KSHU) in 2008. Mr. Tomashek is regularly invited to perform as Guest Artist for leading roles on stages in France, Germany, Italy and Holland. He was a Super Finalist in the Tancyuyut Vsi! (Everybody Dance!) television series, a Ukrainian program based on the American series So You Think You Can Dance, and was named one of the Top 8 dancers in Ukraine. His extensive repertoire includes Basil (L. Minkus. Don Quixote), Prince (P. Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker), Bacchus (S. Gounod. Walpurgis Night), Rothbart, Beno, Jester (P. Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake), Albert. (A. Adan Giselle), and Prince Desiree (P. Tchaikovsky. Sleeping Beauty). Ms. Tomashek is the Owner and Founder of the Tomashek Ballet School in Odessa, Ukraine.